That’s right, school started today. I can already tell it’s going to be a ridiculously busy/stressful quarter between two communication classes, an online writing class, an Italian class, and 20+ hours at work a week.
Anyways, I will try to post when I can, but school and work come before blog, sadly enough.
It amazes me how much hold our society, media, etc… has on the public, especially women.
I have heard about skin bleaching for quite some time now, but I think recently it has been gaining more attention. I think if you were to ask your friends and family to express their opinion on skin bleaching, they’d be opposed to it, calling it “wrong”, “disgusting”, and “crazy”. Of course, there are many side effects of skin bleaching, such as itching, burning, and an increased risk of skin cancer because the bleaching products reduces the amount of melanin available to block UV rays, but women [and men] still bleach their skin to achieve a more “beautiful” skin tone.
What amazes me is that while the majority of people would deem skin bleaching as crazy and unnecessary, tanning is still increasing in popularity. Now, how are these two different? Skin bleaching and tanning are both processes that change the color of your skin to become more “beautiful”. Yet, tanning is seen as more acceptable.
So, what I don’t understand is why there is this sort of “double standard” going on. Why is is that people with naturally dark skin are being persuaded to lighten their skin, while people with naturally light skin are being persuaded to darken their skin? There seems to be two different standards of beauty going on, and it’s absolutely ridiculous.
If you’re reading this, and you are tanning/skin bleaching to achieve a more beautiful skin tone, please stop. You were created the color you are for a reason, and you are beautiful. I’m not going to lie, I definitely went through the whole tanning phase, but I’ve learned to love my fair complexion.
“In Hong Kong, because of the space, apartments are small and expensive. Gary Chang, an architect, decided to design a 344 sq. ft. apartment to be able to change into 24 different designs, all by just sliding panels and walls. He calls this the “Domestic Transformer”".
I feel like I watched a ton of movies this month, especially in the last two weeks.
Couples Retreat My rating: D. Ugh, terrible.I didn’t hear any raving reviews about it before watching it, quite the opposite is true. I went into it with a fairly open mind, but I wasn’t amused. There were very few parts that were actually funny, and I think the only reason this didn’t get a lower rating is because of Jason Bateman. I love Mr. Bateman. I usually love Vince Vaughn and Kristin Davis, but even in this movie I couldn’t get myself to enjoy them. All in all, not a good movie. I laughed a few times, but I wouldn’t recommend it.
The Ugly Truth My rating: C. I am a bit biased because I think Gerard Butler is fabulous, but I still didn’t really enjoy this movie. It definitely had its funny parts and I found myself relating my life to a few bits and pieces here and there, but overall I was pretty disappointed. I was expecting the Butler-Heigl pairing to be phenomenal, and although they worked great together, it still fell short for me. Maybe I’m sick of seeing the same story line time and time again, who knows. If you want a quick laugh go ahead and watch it, but if you’re looking for anything new or clever, find something else.
The Edge of Darkness My rating: C+. Solid movie, but I had it all figured out about a quarter of the way through. I won’t give anything away, but I knew about the daughters “secret”, and so on. The film had its intense moments, and the acting was pretty good, but I was left wanting something more. Maybe it’s because I’m not a fan of Mel Gibson, but I’m pretty sure even if they had cast someone else, I wouldn’t have enjoyed it a whole lot.
Zombieland My rating: A-.
First off, the casting was absolutely brilliant. I think Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin all played their parts extremely well. They each had their moment of hilarity, and overall I think the movie was hilarious. I loved the rules of surviving Zombieland, I thought the “Ghostbusters” scene was beyond funny, and overall I really, really, really enjoyed the movie. I definitely think it will become a cult-classic, because I know people who absolutely hated it, as well as people who absolutely loved it.
New York, I Love You My rating: A-. Loved it. Loved. Loved. Loved. The cast blew my mind, I loved the individuals stories. Did I mention I loved the cast? I did. The cinematography was divine. It followed the same concept as Love Actually, He’s Just Not That Into You, and Valentine’s Day, but it was so different, at least to me. There was less humor and more of the dark and interesting sides of relationships and life. Overall, I dig this movie so much.
Lords of Dogtown My rating: A-. Loved. this. movie. I wouldn’t consider myself a huge fan of skateboarding, but I love learning about the lives of people who participate in activities that I don’t. I think this film did a wonderful job of doing that. I loved the cast, of course. I mean, how can you go wrong with Emile Hirsch and Heath Ledger?You can’t. I also think everyone else was very-well cast. No, I haven’t seen the documentary yet, so I can’t say how accurate everything is, but I thoroughly enjoyed this film. I would definitely recommend it.
Sleepy Hollow My rating: B+. This rating is probably ridiculously biased because I am a huge fan of Johnny Depp and Tim Burton, but I think a B+ rating is rightly deserved. I was pretty hooked the entire film, and my mind was thrown a few times concerning who was behind everything. I’ll definitely be watching this come Halloween-time.
Definitely, Maybe My rating: B+. Again, I am biased because I love the cast, especially Ryan Reynolds and Abigail Breslin. Aside from the cast, I really liked the plot, it was new to me. I was rooting for different women the entire movie as their stories were told, and I felt real emotion at certain points in the film. Overall, it was a romantic-comedy-drama was the executed very well.
The Men Who Stare At Goats My rating: B-. Another solid film. George Clooney is great, and the movie was overall pretty funny. I was a bit disappointed with the ending, but maybe the confusion was due to my drifting in and out of stage 1 sleep. I didn’t think it was overly hilarious or genius by any means, but it was definitely entertaining.
Up In The Air My rating: A-.
I loved this movie, a lot.I haven’t read the book yet, so I cannot comment on how well the transition was executed, but the movie was fabulous. I enjoyed the story, the casting directors were spot on with their choices, and I [as lame as this sounds] loved the font used to transition to each different city. Ha. Well, I was pleasantly surprised and I definitely recommend the film, especially if you’re not looking for a run-of-the-mill romance-drama film. One thing that really surprised me was the fact that [most of] the employees who were fired in the movie actually lost their jobs before filming, so their reactions are totally authentic. Oh, and the music was great as well.
Remember Me My rating: A-. I may get a ton of flack for this rating, but I absolutely adored this film. I think a lot of people go into it with their own opinions of Robert Pattinson, but I think he played his role superbly well. This film showed that he can actually act when given substance [as opposed to the sad excuse of a saga, Twilight/New Moon/Eclipse]. I loved Emilie de Ravin, but I may be biased because I am a HUGE Lost fan. Although many people say the end was offensive in one way or another, I didn’t see it. I thought the ending perfectly concluded the story line. The whole movie was about [at least to me] death and the effect it has on those around you that you leave behind. This can be seen in numerous characters story lines throughout the film. I won’t give away the ending, but I don’t think it was rude, offensive, or out-of-place. It leaves viewers with the idea that your life can end at any point, and you need to appreciate every single minute you’re on this Earth [a minor example of this is when Ally talks about ordering dessert first]. Anyways, I will stop defending the movie and say that I highly recommend this film.
This Film Is Not Yet Rated My rating: B.
I thought this film was really pretty interesting. Seeing how the MPAA rates movies is interesting, and it still ruffles my feathers that movies which contain sexual content are given R or NC-17 ratings over movies which show intense violence. I don’t understand, America! Anyways, I learned quite a bit about the rating-system and I definitely will be giving films I watch my own rating from now on.
It would mean a whole lot if they got enough votes to stay in the top 10 and be able to move onto the second round of voting!
Voting is open until May 31st.
Click here to register for an account (it’ll take two seconds!) and vote for The Routine!
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Well.
If you know me at all, you know I am so anti-Tiger at this point. It’s not so much that I’m angry because he cheated–because, honestly, it happens all the time–but because he is just a famous figure, he should’ve known better.
Aside from that, I don’t understand why Nike decided to produce this commercial. Are we supposed to feel bad for Tiger? Because I don’t see it happening anytime soon. Why feel sorry for a man who knowingly slept with numerous women while he was married? I sure as heck do not feel sorry for him. And Nike, quit attempting to play with our pathos and trying to evoke emotion for Tiger by using his late father’s voice.
I have been experiencing some major fits of nostalgia lately. Now it’s time for a whole post dedicated to that nostalgia!
Just some background: The Promise Hold is, hands down, my favorite band. They haven’t been a band for nearly two years, but each time I listen to them, I still feel like I am 17 again listening to them for the first time. I remember pretty vividly the first time I saw them, it was April 25th, the day before senior prom, and they played with Truce and Kill Your Ex at the Satyricon. Now, I’m pretty sure neither of those bands are together anymore, which makes me think that the Lost numbers had something to do with it all. Haha.
Anyways, from that show to July 24th, 2008, I was hooked. I can’t believe it was only 3 months, because it seems like forever. I swear I was averaging a show a week, and I met a lot of really cool people through them. I would kill for the chance to relieve the summer of 2008. From what I can remember, it was the most fun I had ever had. Period.
Currently, I am finding myself going through old Myspace messages/bulletins around the same time TPH was a huge part of my life. I found this little gem from a bulletin:
I am going to miss:
-Going to shows every week/every other week.
-Seeing the same awesome people at each show.
-Slurpee runs after the show.
-Sitting through one or two horrible bands before TPH comes on.
-Meeting a TON of cool people, just through the mutual liking of a band.
-Everything.
Gosh. Okay, end of my mini rant about how much I adore/miss this band. Time for videos!
Anyways, if you never had the chance to hear them/see them live, I’m sorry. They were truly amazing. Amazing band, amazing guys. A few members are in other projects, so check those out: